Gay

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Gay
Gay.svg
Orientation: Any
Main Umbrella: Orientation
GxG Format: ?x#
Attracted To: Same or similar genders
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Gay (also known as homosexual or homoromantic) is an orientation encompassing the attraction to same or similar genders to one's own.

While the term gay can apply to men, women, and non-binary individuals, it is sometimes specifically used to refer to gay men, with the term lesbian tending to be used for gay women.[1][2] Gay has also been used as an umbrella term for anyone who is non-straight.

History

Etymology

Historically the word gay meant merry or lively, was used in various promiscuous manners (such as describing a brothel as gay), and was closely associated to homosexuality.[1][3]

I write to tell you it is a gay house...Some captains came in the other night, and the mistress wanted us to sleep with them.[4] After discharge A.Z. lived for some time at home. He was not happy at the farm and went to a Western city where he associated with a homosexual crowd, being "gay," and wearing female clothes and makeup. He always wished others would make advances to him.[5]

The term homosexual was coined by Károly Mária Kertbeny in 1868, in a letter to Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, deriving from the Greek word homos, meaning "the same".[6] However many queer communities have expressed their preference towards gay over homosexual, with the latter definition deemed too clinical, referring to when homosexuality was originally classified as a mental illness in the DSM.[7][8]

Gay individuals are typically associated with cross-dressing though this is not an inherent aspect to gay identities. The association to cross-dressing stems from a "gay" aesthetic, involving "carefree" and "frivolous" attire. This was especially influenced by film and media at the time, including a popular film from 1939 that depicted a scene of a man wearing feminine clothing, stating that they were gay.[9]

Other words were used as synonyms for gay, or same-sex attraction including queer, faggot, fairy, and homo. Some of these were intended to be used offensively, though have been reclaimed over the years in a more positive light.[10][11]

Early History

Europe

Whilst the Greeks or Romans did not have a social construct for homosexuality at the time, they had practiced diverse sexual relations commonly referred to as pederasty. These relationships involved an older male (the erastes) and a younger male (the eromenos).[12] Both words originate from the Greek erô and erân, "to love". Various statues, art, and literature of these eras depicted these same sex relations. Examples include a love poem written from one man to another, a recount of a man smitten by a boy whilst in an unhappy heterosexual marriage, and a vase painting of two men courting.[13][14][15]

In many cases these relations between adolescent boys and older men were not considered a permanent aspect of one's identity, but more of a temporary phase in life - as later on these same young men would often marry women.[16] Though whilst pederasty was an accepted practice, it was discouraged as an indefinite relationship. Greek relationship roles came in the form of a dominant and passive figure, the younger male taking on the passive role until of independent age, with other passive figures including women and slaves.[17]

Records of gay women were far and few between due to the patriarchy domination of ancient Europe cultures.[18]

Africa

Same-sex relations were also recorded in Africa, regarding potentially the first known homosexual couple in history. The art of the two men were portrayed in an intimate pose, almost kissing.[19]

Male Azande warriors in northern Congo where known to participate in same-sex activities with younger men, who also assisted with daily household tasks.[20]

Various African tribes had their own terms to describe gay relations, such as yan daudu, a Hausan term to describe feminine men that are considered as a wife in relationships.[21] Other tribes believed same-sex sexuality to be a source of magical powers, encouraging crop yields and good health.[22]

Asia

Asian history had various portrayals of same-sex relationships recorded in as early as the 1800s. Though it wasn't widely practiced it was not seen as an offence nor threat in various regions.[23]

Homosexual sex is featured as an entire chapter in the Indian Kama Sutra, with lesbians being recognized as swarinis.[24]

The two Indian gods Varuna and Mitra were depicted in a homosexual relationship. In historic texts they are mentioned as the personification of two half-moons, merging with one another as the moon waxes and wanes.[24]

In ancient China, ten out of thirteen emperors were documented as having relations with other men, in addition to their wives and concubines. These tie into palace harems in 2,600 BC featuring both men and women.[25]

Modern History

Prominent aspects of support to gay communities include protests and pride parades. The first pride march celebrated in London took place in the year 1972, with a turnout of over two thousand marchers. Madrid celebrated its first Pride event in 1978, and Berlin hosted its first Pride event in 1979.[18]

Along with women's rights and the civil rights movement, the gay rights movement has been brought to the forefront of society in the last century. Various countries have legalized same-sex marriage and decriminalized same-sex engagement during the 21st century. Noteworthy events include court mandated laws in the U.S in 2015, and Germany in 2017. Australia passed legislation allowing same-sex marriage after a country wide vote by a 62% to 38% margin. The first country to legalize same-sex marriage was the Netherlands in year 2000.[26]

Homophobia

Content Warning: Homophobia

Homophobia is a form of queerphobia defined as the irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or people who possess homosexual tendencies.[27] In Abrahamic influenced regions, homosexuality was often condemned by religious cultures as a "crime against nature", especially sex between men (sodomy).[28] With the rise of Christianity in Rome, the death penalty for homosexual intercourse was enacted in 342 AD by Emperor Constantine of the Roman Empire.[17][18]

Other 18th and 19th century punishments for sodomy included death by fire or hanging, as well forced castrations in France, Great Britain, Italy, Denmark, and other surrounding countries. Later on these sentences became less harsh, usually instead resulting in years of imprisonment.[18]

Religious influences from early history are still impactful in the 21st century, and contribute to various conservative views, especially that of Evangelical Protestants.[29] Various countries to this day either denounce gay identities, or outright criminalize them. Countries such as Russia, Iran, and Afghanistan are notorious for their strict bans on homosexual media, practices, and relationships. Majority of homophobic countries are African.[30][31]

A report in 2020 found that wealthier countries were more likely to be accepting of homosexuality.[32][18]

Related Terms

Label Relationship Description Difference
Gayhet Similar Gay attraction to one gender, straight attraction to another. Gayhet requires straight attraction in addition to gay attraction.
Lesbian Similar Gay attraction to women. Gay can encompass attraction to men.
Omnique Similar Fluid attraction that is always gay. Gay attraction is not inherently fluid and can be static.
Straight Opposite Attraction to the opposite or dissimilar gender(s). Straight refers to opposite or dissimilar gender attraction, whereas gay refers to same or similar gender attraction.
Gay Man Similar Gay attraction to men. Gay can encompass attraction to women.

Orientations

Label Orientation Flag Creator(s)
Gay / Homoalterous Alterous [33] Raleigh
Gay / Homoplatonic Platonic Homoplatonic.png[34] Kau
Gay / Homoqueerplatonic Queerplatonic Homoqueerplatonic.jpg[35] Homoqueerplatonic2.jpg[36] Mod Hermy
Gay / Homoromantic Romantic Homoromantic.png[37] Unknown
Gay / Homosensual Sensual Homosensual.jpg[38] Homosensual2.jpg[39] Unknown
Gay / Homosexual Sexual Gay.svg[40] Gilbert Baker

Prefixes and Suffixes

Label Prefix / Suffix Flag Description Creator(s)
Homocurious -curious Homocurious.png[41] Primarily attracted to dissimilar genders but interested in similar genders. Ap

Flags and Symbols

The rainbow flag was originally designed by Gilbert Baker and was first displayed in a Gay Freedom Day Parade celebration on the 25th of June, 1978. The flag represents the entire LGBT community, but is commonly used to represent gay individuals specifically.[42]

The homo- flag was designed by Tumblr user pastelroswell via submission to the blog Beyond-MOGAI-Pride-Flags. Each color is paired with a similar color to represent attraction to and relationships between similar genders. This is also meant to visually illustrate that homo- individuals are not necessarily attracted to the exact same gender exclusively, e.g. a homosexual man might be attracted to both binary and non-binary men, or individuals that are multigender with at least one of those genders being masculine. The outermost stripes being purple represents purple’s history as a symbolic color of the LGBTQIA+, gay, and queer communities, which intersect directly with the homo- community.[43]

An alternate gay flag was created by Tumblr user Delta. It was defined as representing any gay individual regardless of their gender or the amount of genders one is attracted to.[44]

Another alternate gay flag was created by imoga-pride. On a broad level, it was defined as representing gai, mspec, and non-binary individuals. The brown was chosen to represent gay bears, green to represent unfeminine/masculine gays and gay men, green-yellow to represent gay non-binary and abinary individuals, pink-yellow to represent unmasculine/feminine gays, gay twinks, and femmes, purple to represent variant gays (those not usually represented by the gay community), gay pluralians, butches, stags, and teal-blue to represent curious or questioning gays.[45]

  • Original Gay Flag (Gilbert Baker)

    Original Gay Flag (Gilbert Baker)

  • Alternate Gay Flag (pastelroswell)

    Alternate Gay Flag (pastelroswell)

  • Alternate Gay Flag (Delta)

    Alternate Gay Flag (Delta)

  • Alternate Gay Flag (imoga-pride)

    Alternate Gay Flag (imoga-pride)

Resources

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Gay". Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gay. Accessed on 3 Jan, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Lesbian". Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lesbian. Accessed on 3 Jan, 2023.
  3. ↑ "gay (adj.)". Online Etymology Dictionary, 27 Oct, 2022, https://www.etymonline.com/word/gay.
  4. ↑ "English Girls Decoyed To France". ' Issue 73, The Sentinel, May. 1885, p415.
  5. ↑ "Rorschach Research Exchange and Journal of Projective Techniques". ' 1947, p.240.
  6. ↑ "Kertbeny, Károly Mária (1824-1882)". glbtq, https://web.archive.org/web/20120927020758/http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/kertbeny_km.html. Archived on 27 Sep, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Offensive Terminology to Avoid". glaad, https://web.archive.org/web/20081012132923/http://www.glaad.org/media/guide/offensive.php. Archived on 12 Oct, 2008.
  8. ↑ "Glossary of Terms: LGBTQ". glaad, https://www.glaad.org/reference/terms. Accessed on 3 Jan, 2023.
  9. ↑ Bringing Up Baby (1934), https://web.archive.org/web/20060630103200/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG03/comedy/bringingupbaby.html. Archived on 30 Jun, 2006.
  10. ↑ "QUEERS READ THIS". qrd.org, Jun, 1990, http://www.qrd.org/qrd/misc/text/queers.read.this.
  11. ↑ Wheeler, André. "Why I'm reclaiming the homophobic slur I used to fear". The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/09/lgbt-gay-men-slur-homophobia. Accessed on 3 Jan, 2023.
  12. ↑ Hubbard, Thomas K. (2003). "Introduction". Homosexuality in Greece and Rome: a Sourcebook of Basic Documents. University of California Press. p. 1. ISBN 0520234308.
  13. ↑ Hubbard, Thomas K. "Pindar, Theoxenus, and the Homoerotic Eye." Arethusa, vol. 35 no. 2, 2002, p. 255-296. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/are.2002.0018.
  14. ↑ Lambert, Royston.  Beloved and God : the story of Hadrian and Antinous / Royston Lambert  Weidenfeld and Nicolson London  1984
  15. ↑ Brendle, Ross (April 2019). "The Pederastic Gaze in Attic Vase-Painting". Arts. 8 (2): 47. doi:10.3390/arts8020047.
  16. ↑ Buxton, Richard (2004). The Complete World of Greek Mythology. London: Thames and Hudson. pp. 148–149. ISBN 0500251215.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Stopforth, Jaymie. "Homosexuality in Ancient Europe". Prism, 4 Jul, 2021, https://www.prismfl.org/post/homosexuality-in-ancient-europe.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 "Europe and LGBT Pride: A History". My Country Europe, 19 Jun, 2019, https://mycountryeurope.com/culture/europe-lgbt-pride/.
  19. ↑ Murray, Stephen; Roscoe, Will (1998). Boy Wives and Female Husbands: Studies of African Homosexualities. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-23829-0.
  20. ↑ Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (1970). "Sexual Inversion among the Azande". American Anthropologist. 72 (6): 1428–1434. doi:10.1525/aa.1970.72.6.02a00170. S2CID 162319598.
  21. ↑ Alimi, Bisi. "If you say being gay is not African, you don’t know your history". The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/09/being-gay-african-history-homosexuality-christianity. Accessed on 7 Jan, 2023.
  22. ↑ Tamale, Sylvia. "Homosexuality is not un-African". Aljazeera America, 26 Apr, 2014, http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/4/homosexuality-africamuseveniugandanigeriaethiopia.html.
  23. ↑ Nugroho, Johannes. "The Hidden Histories of Homosexuality in Asia". Fair Observer, 29 Jul, 2016, https://www.fairobserver.com/region/asia_pacific/hidden-histories-homosexuality-asia-77120/.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Tharoor, Shashi. "On gay sex, India has assumed an ancient position. Read the kama sutra". This Week in Asia, 15 Sep, 2018, https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2164299/gay-sex-india-has-assumed-ancient-position-read-kama-sutra.
  25. ↑ "Homosexuality in Traditional Asian Culture". Commisceo Global, https://www.commisceo-global.com/blog/homosexuality-in-traditional-asian-culture. Accessed on 7 Jan, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Same-Sex Marriage Around the World". Pew Research Center, 28 Oct, 2019, https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/gay-marriage-around-the-world/.
  27. ↑ “Homophobia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homophobia. Accessed 20 Sep. 2023.
  28. ↑ Plato; Saunders, Trevor J. (1970). The laws. Harmondsworth, Eng.: Penguin. p. 340. ISBN 0-14-044222-7. OCLC 94283
  29. ↑ "Views about homosexuality among conservatives by religious group". Pew Research Center, https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/compare/views-about-homosexuality/by/religious-tradition/among/political-ideology/conservative/. Accessed on 3 Jan, 2023.
  30. ↑ "Homosexuality: The countries where it is illegal to be gay". BBC News, 12 May, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-43822234.
  31. ↑ "Most Homophobic Countries 2023". World Population Review, https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-homophobic-countries. Accessed on 4 Jan, 2023.
  32. ↑ Nicholas, Kent and Poushter, Jacob. "The Global Divide on Homosexuality Persists". Pew Research Center, 25 Jun, 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2020/06/25/global-divide-on-homosexuality-persists/.
  33. ↑ Raleigh. "Homoalterous, bialterous, polyalterous, and panalterous!". Tumblr, Posted by pride-flags-for-us, 2015, https://web.archive.org/web/20160809001843/http://pride-flags-for-us.tumblr.com:80/post/118130541274/homoalterous-bialterous-polyalterous-and. Archived on 9 Aug, 2016.
  34. ↑ beyond-mogai-pride-flags. "Homoplatonic Pride Flag". Tumblr, 25 Jun, 2018, https://beyond-mogai-pride-flags.tumblr.com/post/175246762765/homoplatonic-pride-flag.
  35. ↑ Pride-Flags. "Homoqueerplatonic / Platgay (1)". DeviantArt, 25 Aug, 2016, https://www.deviantart.com/pride-flags/art/Homoqueerplatonic-Platgay-1-630382226.
  36. ↑ Pride-Flags. "Homoqueerplatonic / Platgay (2)". DeviantArt, 25 Aug, 2016, https://www.deviantart.com/pride-flags/art/Homoqueerplatonic-Platgay-2-630382229.
  37. ↑ Pride-Flags. "Homoromantic (2)". DeviantArt, 10 May, 2016, https://www.deviantart.com/pride-flags/art/Homoromantic-2-607943877.
  38. ↑ Pride-Flags. "Homosensual Pride Flag". DeviantArt, 3 May, 2016, https://www.deviantart.com/pride-flags/art/Homosensual-Pride-Flag-606692488.
  39. ↑ Pride-Flags. "Homosensual (2)". DeviantArt, 5 May, 2016, https://www.deviantart.com/pride-flags/art/Homosensual-2-607101601.
  40. ↑ "THE RAINBOW FLAG". GLBT Historical Society, https://www.glbthistory.org/rainbow-flag. Accessed on 7 Jan, 2023.
  41. ↑ beyond-mogai-pride-flags. "Homo-curious Pride Flag". Tumblr, 14 Jun, 2019, https://beyond-mogai-pride-flags.tumblr.com/post/185590790290/homo-curious-pride-flag.
  42. ↑ Strauss, Dead. "Jun 27 Gilbert Baker & the Rainbow Flag Part II". Making Queer History, https://www.makingqueerhistory.com/articles/2022/6/27/gilbert-baker-amp-the-rainbow-flag-part-ii. Accessed on 7 Jan, 2023.
  43. ↑ Beyond Mogai Pride Flags. "I designed a homo- flag!". Tumblr, 23 Aug, 2018, https://web.archive.org/web/20220120131112/https://beyond-mogai-pride-flags.tumblr.com/post/177311648565/i-designed-a-homo-flag-this-includes-all-forms.
  44. ↑ soong-type-delta. "i made a gay flag!". Tumblr, 22 Nov, 2021, https://archive.md/2022.07.23-203952/https://soong-type-delta.tumblr.com/post/668589937064640512/i-made-a-gay-flag-this-is-a-flag-for-anyone-who. Archived on 23 Jul, 2022.
  45. ↑ imoga-pride. "Gay Man Flags/Gay Flag". Tumblr, 11 Feb, 2019, https://imoga-pride.tumblr.com/post/182748376951/gay-man-flagsgay-flag-the-two-are-6-striped.
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